Talking Points Memo

31st December 1969

Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Monday that the primary contributing factors to climate change are the “ocean waters and this environment that we live in” — not rising CO2 levels. “Do you believe CO2 is the primary control knob for the temperature of the Earth and for climate?” asked CNBC’s Joe Kernen. “No, most likely the primary control knob is the ocean waters and this environment that we live in,” replied the secretary.

He then began to complain about the backlash against “being a skeptic. ” “This idea that science is just absolutely settled and if you don’t believe it’s settled then somehow you’re another Neanderthal, that is so inappropriate from my perspective,” Perry said. There is broad consensus in the scientific community that the Earth’s temperatures are rising as a result of greenhouse gases, caused by human activity.

Being a “skeptic,” according to Perry, is “quite alright. ” At the ended of the interview, Kernan gave Perry a verbal pat on the back. “Alright, Mr.